After the Ecstasy, the Laundry (2000) is a book by Jack Kornfield, a renowned Buddhist and meditation teacher. This is the second book I’ve read by Kornfield, the first being the best-selling A Path With Heart (1993), which I’d highly recommend as an introduction to Buddhism and a practical guide to Buddhist meditation, including the…
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Depression can be a complex condition to treat. I’ve tried to change my lifestyle in all sorts of ways to ease symptoms of depression. However, one lifestyle change that I feel has helped to address the deeper causes of my depression has been a regular meditation practice. Mindfulness meditation has led to clear improvements in…
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Being a happy pessimist may sound like a contradiction in terms, but really, there is nothing inherently incompatible about being both happy and a pessimist. Here I should make a distinction between philosophical pessimism and what can be called dispositional pessimism. The former is a philosophical worldview, which proponents believe is an accurate perception of…
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The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is a philosophical short story by the sci-fi writer Ursula K. Le Guin, originally published in 1973 and then re-republished in The Wind’s Twelve Quarters (1975), a collection of Le Guin’s short stories. This particular short story (which you can read here) describes the utopian city of Omelas,…
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Minimalism is enjoying something of a popular resurgence now. Renowned minimalists like the Japanese consultant Marie Kondo and The Minimalists (authors and filmmakers Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus) have introduced the philosophy and benefits of minimalism through their books, talks, blogs, documentaries, and TV series. Now, people everywhere are embracing opportunities to pare down…
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